


Pretzels

by Lapin



Category: The Magnificent Seven (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Leverage Fusion, Leverage AU, M/M, Modern AU, Summer Swagbag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:00:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25063534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lapin/pseuds/Lapin
Summary: “I hate you,” Red says, because he thought that joke was fucking dead. He didn’t even know they still made Faygo. He can’t think of why the Mexican grocery store would have it, either. It’s not Mexican. They make it in Michigan, which is the last place Red remembers seeing it, back when him and Josh were like, nineteen.Josh doesn’t even flinch, just takes a swig of the Redpop, then screws the cap back on. “If that was true, you’d have killed me years ago.”Heists and hijinks have been a part of Red's life ever since he met Josh. He should be used to it by now.
Relationships: Joshua Faraday & Red Harvest, Joshua Faraday/Vasquez, Red Harvest/Teddy Q, Vasquez & Red Harvest
Comments: 12
Kudos: 83





	Pretzels

**Author's Note:**

> So I've been working on this Leverage-inspired fic for a bit now, and lo and behold, it fits into the July Swagbag! Lucky me!

“I’m too sober for this.”

Red thinks about that statement, his hands in his hoodie pocket while he leans against the wall, trying to decide if he wants to respond or not. It doesn’t really need one. But he finally replies with the obvious: “You don’t drink.” 

Beside him, Teddy huffs. “I’m considering starting.” 

That requires a little more thought, carefully phrasing what he wants to say. “You shouldn’t,” he says. Because Teddy really shouldn’t drink. Ever. 

“I can drink if I want to,” Teddy argues, leaning his shoulder against the wall. 

“Doesn’t mean you should.” Because he shouldn’t. Teddy gets _weird_ on the few occasions he drinks. Not in a bad way. Not for him, at least. Mostly, it’s bad for Red, so his stance is kind of coming from a selfish place, but whatever. Teddy doesn’t drink anyway. “Isn’t doing them any good.” He hitches his chin towards where Vasquez and Josh are sitting by the empty firepit, sharing one of the lawn chairs. Which they shouldn’t be doing. It’s folded out flat, so they both fit, but the thing is one of the old kinds, made of all those skinny colored rubber bands, and it’s only folded out flat because it no longer goes up. 

Probably can’t support their shared weight for long either. That’ll at least be funny. And then maybe someone will actually remember to throw the damn thing out. Red’s pretty sure it’s as old as them. He remembers his mom having a similar one when he was a kid. It had been a victim of one of his and Josh’s games when they were about ten, so this one has to be at least twenty years old. 

He doesn’t think they even make them anymore. 

“Five bucks says the chair breaks,” he says. 

“That thing survived being set on fire,” Teddy reminds him. “Think it might be indestructible.” 

Nothing is indestructible, in Red’s experience, but Teddy has a point about the chair. The bottom rubber part, where someone’s supposed to put their feet, isn’t even white anymore. It’s mostly just charred, still holding together through some kind of force of will. “They’re over three hundred pounds, together. Chair has to break some time.” Not to mention they’re both kind of drunk, messing around and playing at shoving each other. The metal parts of the chair are damn near rusted through already. They shouldn’t be drinking either, but whatever. Job’s basically done. “Where did Emma even get it?”

“Think it got left here by the last tenants,” Teddy says. “They left a lot of junk.” 

That’s kind of the story with all the little houses in this neighborhood. Nothing’s been built here since the seventies, if Red had to guess, and all the houses are tiny, some with two bedrooms at most. It’s mostly occupied by single guys who used to work at the mill, to guess from the driveways, almost all of them cluttered with old car parts and whatever else had been found and deemed potentially useful. Single guys are like that, in Red’s experience. 

Well, most guys. Red doesn’t really have a lot of stuff, no matter where he’s living. Product of his lifestyle.

“I mean, I’d say we should just let them get drunk and sort it out, but that hasn’t done a damn thing. So that leaves me getting drunk, because this is all kind of starting to get on my nerves.” 

Red eyes him. “Didn’t know you could get annoyed.” 

“Ha-ha, yes, I have no emotions, I’m just here to smile and nod,” Teddy says, softly, pushing off from the wall. “Whatever.” He walks past Red, back inside the house, leaving him standing there and trying to figure where the fuck that went wrong. 

After a few minutes, Goody takes his place, leaning back against the wall and lighting the cigarette dangling in his mouth. “Good lord, what did you say to Teddy Q.?”

He doesn’t know, so Red just shrugs, then shakes his head when Goody offers him his pack. “I didn’t say anything,” he insists. “Made a joke.” 

“Hm. Might want to watch that over the next couple of weeks, after we head home.” He says it like Red should know what he means, but he doesn’t, so he raises his eyebrows at Goody, asking. “He didn’t tell you? Max and him called it quits. Earlier than I thought was planned.” 

The thing is, even Red knows he’s supposed to have some kind of sympathy or something over that, but he definitely doesn’t. Worse, Goody knows him well enough to tell that he’s having the opposite reaction. 

“You could try and pretend you’re sad about that,” he says to Red. “Just a little.” 

Red shrugs again, uncomfortable now. What is he supposed to say? He didn’t like the guy. Max had been the kind of guy that always had to have Teddy’s attention on him, and it wasn’t like he’d liked Red very much either. He’d been pretty damn open about it.

“Eventually, we are going to have to share him with the world at large, Red. Just because you don’t like new people in our social circle doesn’t mean he has to be alone.” He’s making this sound like it’s Red’s fault, and that’s bullshit. He didn’t tell Teddy to break up with the guy; he didn’t say anything about Max. “Don’t make that face. I admit I was not terribly fond of Maximillian, myself. He did not suit for the long term. But Teddy’s disappointed. I got the impression Max said some unkind things.”

That at least gets a reaction out of Red. “What the fuck did he say?” 

“I don’t know, but whatever it was, it hurt his feelings.” Yeah, that puts Red in mind to hurt Max’s fucking face if he sees him again, but it’s not like it’ll do any good. And Max is the kind of guy that would press charges, so it’s not worth it. Their fake IDs are only so good.

In any case, Red pushes off from the wall and leaves Goody, Goody saying, “Bye to you, too,” to his back. 

There’s not a lot of places in Emma and Matthew’s little house to go. The one story is a basic, four-room layout, so Red walks from the pack porch, through the dining and living room, and out onto the front step, where yeah, Teddy is now sitting, looking at his phone. He doesn’t put it away when Red sits down beside him, but he’s not really doing anything. Deleting text messages, it looks like. 

“Sorry,” Teddy mutters. “I’m not in a great mood.”

Red nods. “Goody told me.”

“Yeah. Max turned out to be a jerk. What else is new?” He stretches his legs out, and drops his head down to rest on his knees. “Whatever. I didn’t even like him all that much, if I’m being honest.” 

That makes Red feel better. “Neither did I.”

“Yeah, he hated you,” Teddy says, matter-of-factly. “Like, a lot. It came up.” He sits back up. “All of you did. Apparently, all my friends are insane. Which I already knew, but I think I’ve just kind gone through life assuming everyone has the kind of friends I have.” He nods, mostly to himself, seems like.

Red sits back on his elbows, linking his fingers over his stomach. He’d accepted a long time ago that most people weren’t like him, and the rest of their friends. But he’s always been pretty alright with how things have ended up. He always had Josh, whether he wanted him or not, and then they started working for Sam, and with Sam came the rest of them. They mesh together well, as a group.

But yeah, they’re all kind of fucking crazy. “Most people aren’t in our line of work.” 

“It’s not like I tell people what we do.”

“Probably shouldn’t.” Seeing as how their line of work only has a passing familiarity with the law, yeah. Teddy should probably keep that to himself. “We’re criminals.” 

“Yep,” Teddy agrees, then sighs again. “Maybe I really should start drinking.”

That’s not good for Red’s own sanity, so he reiterates, “You really shouldn’t.” 

“Hm. Something to keep in mind, though. Especially if I have to watch those two much longer.” 

That’s a fair point. But he still thinks it’s a bad idea for Teddy to start drinking. 

It’s Vasquez who brings it up a couple of days later, mostly because they’re stuck together on surveillance, and Vasquez has adopted Josh’s way of operating with Red, which is to just talk at him until he’s forced to respond. “So, Teddy finally worked out Max was more of an asshole than he was useful?”

Red’s not even sure how he got on the subject. It’s possible he’s been talking about it for awhile and Red just wasn’t listening. “I guess.” Teddy hadn’t actually told him how the break-up happened, but he got the impression it might have been Max that initiated it. 

“So…” Vasquez raises his eyebrows at Red, then tilts his head back and forth. Red has no idea what the fuck he’s doing, or why. “So, he’s single.” 

He almost makes a comment on that being stunningly observant of Vasquez, but refrains. Down that road lies...he’s pretty sure that quote ends with ‘madness’, but that’s not quite right. What’s down that road is nothing but Red getting really, really irritated. Which does make him mad, but not that kind. “It’s not like we’re staying here much longer, anyway.” 

This is really just follow-up. They’ve already recovered the hard drives that were requested by the client in question, and the original deeds that had been ‘missing’. Everything’s been returned to its rightful owner, the corporate thieves hired by their target that had done the original stealing appear to be falling apart on their own, and they’ve been paid. Plus, what they helped themselves to in the process of this job, which had been a lot. 

Few more days of this, and they head home to New Mexico. So it’s not like Max would have lasted any longer past that. Teddy’s ‘boyfriends’ never do, but then, they’re not really meant to. He doesn’t know for sure, but Teddy seems more comfortable with these things having a purpose and a designated end date. 

And so does Red, but that’s no one else’s business, as far as he’s concerned. Either way, they’ll go back to New Mexico, and back to their real lives, sans Max. 

“Oh, shit, I think they’re gonna kill each other,” Vasquez says, sounding interested. Red checks too; yeah, there are hands on holsters. “What do you think, wanna stick around, watch the show?” 

Red just packs up their stuff, and starts walking, hearing Vasquez curse behind him, but follow. 

“C’mon, that might have been funny,” Vasquez scolds him, once they’re in the car. “I bet none of them even manage to land a shot. They’re fucking kids, wanting to be outlaws. This is what happens when you let kids grow up on Pirate Bay. They’re fucking downloading movies, think they’re real criminals.” 

It’s possible this rant had a real point when Vasquez got started. It’s not possible for Red to care, so he mostly stops listening again, thinking about how they’re getting home. They’re in Oregon right now. It’s not too bad a drive to get back home, a couple of days at most, but Red really just wants to sleep in his actual bed. Maybe Goody will talk Sam into renting them a private plane. They couldn’t use one to get out here, couldn’t risk it, but taking one home shouldn’t be too bad. Goody and Billy both know pilots. 

They don’t need to do much before they leave. Red’s been staying in an apartment above someone’s garage, little studio the lady who owns the house usually rents to a student during the school year. She’d been happy to take cash and not ask questions or for ID, long as he was quiet and paid every week. He hadn’t even unpacked. Emma and Matthew had only been subletting the little house because it was near the lumber mill, and they’d needed to break in a couple of times.

Teddy will probably be happy to get home, too. Red should take him out for dinner or something. Just because Max had an expiration date doesn’t mean he’s not upset. And just because Red hated him doesn’t mean he wants Teddy upset. Mostly he wants Teddy to stop dating these morons on these jobs. And in general. 

His brain tunes him back into whatever Vasquez is talking about. He’s said Teddy’s name twice now. “What?”

“I swear to God, I’m going to start fucking tasing you. Maybe that’ll make sure you fucking listen, eh?”

“Whatever.” He still wants to know what Vasquez is talking about. “What about Teddy?”

“I was saying, since he’s ‘officially’ single again and we’re heading home, I was thinking about trying my luck.” 

What the _fuck_ , when did this conversation take that turn? “What are you talking about?”

Vasquez shrugs. “Teddy’s good-looking, and he’s got the patience of a fucking saint. And me, look at me. I am a very handsome man, and I need someone with some patience.” 

Nothing about this conversation makes any sense anymore. Why the hell is Vasquez talking about this? When did this become an option? And since when was he interested in Teddy? He’s been into Josh since way too damn long, as far as Red knew, and he thought it was mutual. It’s not even just him, everyone thought that. 

What the fuck. 

“You want to hook up with Teddy?”

“He speaks! And an entire sentence too! Hold on, let me make a note on my calendar.” He actually pulls out his phone, the asshole. “‘Dear Diary: Today Red spoke a whole sentence to me. It was a question.’” 

Red almost knocks the thing out of his hand, but Jack will be pissed if he has to replace another phone because of something Red did. It’s entirely possible the last two phones that Vasquez had to get replaced were in fact broken by Red. He can’t remember. “Since when are you into him?” 

“Eh.” Vas gestures vaguely. “We’re getting older, man. And it’s not easy, actually having a relationship with someone. Not for us. I mean, look at our friends. Goody and Billy, Emma and Matthew. They’re solid, but that’s just because we’re in the same line of work. Ain’t no need to keep secrets.” He gestures again, at nothing, slouching down in his seat some. “It’s not so much about being into him, so much as, well, I know him, I know I like him. He knows me, likes me. We get along. We have the same values, and shit. And I want to start something I _know_ will be solid. Have a home, one day. Maybe a family.”

That’s all nice, but the thought of Vasquez doing that with Teddy annoys Red. It’s not even that he thinks they’d be bad together, he just really doesn’t like it. At all. “Don’t mix work up in that shit.” 

“Think we’re all long past that,” Vasquez says. “Look, I’m not saying it would even work. I’m not getting my heart broken by Teddy Q. Just an idea.” 

That annoys Red, too. It’s the way he says it, is all. “You’re not his type.” 

“Yeah, well, his ‘type’ isn’t working for him. So maybe it won’t hurt for him to try something new.” 

And maybe it won’t hurt when Red punches Vasquez in the face. But he doubts it. So he doesn’t hit him, but he doesn’t say anything else about it for the rest of the ride. 

He said it was just an idea. Maybe he’ll drop it by the time they get home. 

They do end up flying home, which works for Red, on some private plane owned by someone Sam knows. They’re all too tired to talk much, and Red mostly dozes, or looks out the window at the clouds. It’s rained practically every damn day they’ve been in Oregon, it feels like, and it’s good to see the sun. And while the plane is only just big enough to fit all of them, that means there’s no one to bother him. 

Except Josh, because Josh doesn’t care about Red’s personal space. “Jesus Christ, who doesn’t Sam know?” he asks, sitting in the seat beside Red. “How do you think he knows a movie producer, anyway?”

“Fuck off,” Red mutters.

“Nah, come on. Play along. Think maybe she and Sam were a thing, back in the day?” 

“I think you should mind your own business,” Red says. 

Across the aisle, there’s some kind of table built into the side of the plane, and that’s where Teddy and Sam are sitting. They’re playing cards, and Red’s been half-listening to their conversation until now. If Red could hear them, they can definitely hear Josh. Sam probably doesn’t care, but still. 

But again, this is Josh, and Josh has never given a single fuck about offending people. “Hey, Sam, what’s the deal with you and this lady?”

“I don’t pay you to talk, Faraday,” Sam replies. 

“That’s kind of exactly what you pay me to do,” Josh points out. 

“Well, I ain’t paying you now, am I?” He lays out his cards. “How about some sevens, Q.?” 

Teddy dutifully hands over a seven, and Sam lays the pair out. 

“Seriously? You’re playing Go Fish?” Josh turns back to Red. “They’re playing Go Fish.” Yeah, Red can see that. “So, what do you want to do when we get home? I vote we go out, treat ourselves to something from the top shelf. Maybe think about hitting up the casino.” 

“Sleep,” Red replies. He votes sleep. In his own bed, in his own place. With his phone on Do Not Disturb. “Quiet.” 

“Don’t be boring,” Josh pushes. “We’re still young and fun. You’re not allowed to be boring, yet.” 

At this point, Red starts tuning him out. He already knows how this conversation is going to go; Red will say no, Josh will ignore him, and Red will end up going along with whatever stupid shit Josh wants to go do. It’ll probably be fun, too. But none of it will really need his input. So he can just stop listening for the time being. 

Sometime before or after, he needs to remember that dinner idea with Teddy. Teddy won’t want to do whatever Josh will come up with, but that’s alright. It’ll be nice to be alone with him again. This job was a group effort, and while they had downtime, Teddy had been seeing that guy. _Max_. Whatever, Red will be able to forget his name soon enough. Teddy will, too. And everything will go back to normal. 

Or what passes for normal, in their lives. 

They’ve been gone a month this time, one of their longer jobs, and Red had actually caved and hired a cleaning service to come through once a week, so his place is pretty clean when he gets inside. Jack had come over and fed the fish, so they’re good too. Being fish, they don’t greet him when he comes in, but he still checks on their tank. They’re not much, but he likes having them. His lifestyle doesn’t really work for a regular pet, but the fish make him feel less alone in the house. 

Maybe he’ll get a cat when he retires. Cats are easy to take care of, right? 

That is of course, assuming his retirement doesn’t take place in a federal prison. Which is always a distinct possibility. But he’ll probably be sharing a cell with Josh, so at least he won’t be alone. 

Whatever. For now, he puts his stuff down and gets into bed, remembering to get his boots off and plug his phone in before he falls asleep.

He wakes up to the smell of coffee. At first, as he takes a second to adjust, he thinks he’s back in the apartment in Oregon, where he could always smell the coffee in his landlady’s kitchen. But then he remembers that no, he’s home, and he shouldn’t be smelling coffee. 

Federal agents probably won’t be making coffee, and he can’t think of anyone looking to kill him who’s not in prison themselves, so he rolls out of bed and goes to look. It’s not the FBI or anyone with a grudge; just Vasquez. 

This isn’t really that unusual. For some reason that Red cannot work out, his house attracts his friends, invited or not. And Vasquez had taken to Red pretty quickly after they met, again, for some reason Red cannot work out. 

“I brought you breakfast,” Vasquez says, nodding towards a bag on the counter. It’s got two breakfast bowls from the place in town Red likes, so Red forgives him for waking Red up, and grabs some coffee for himself. Vasquez apparently took it upon himself to bring Red some staples too; there’s oat milk for his coffee in the fridge. “It’s like, eleven. Since when do you sleep that long?”

He feels like he’s finally slept for the first time since they got to Oregon, so he’s guessing he was just genuinely worn out. Age might finally be catching up with him, too. It’s getting harder to move around as much as they do. “I was tired,” he says, sitting down at the table with Vasquez. “What do you want?”

“I can’t come check on you?” Vasquez asks. “Josh was worried because you didn’t text him back. I was already going to the grocery store, figured I’d make sure you were alive and fed, too.” That makes sense. Vasquez is just like that. And since Red gets food out of it, he’s not arguing. “Also, I might have an ulterior motive.” 

The breakfast bowl feels like a betrayal now. He’s still going to eat it, and probably the other one too, because they’re good, and expensive. Plus, Red doesn’t think he actually has anything edible in the house, but still. “What do you want?” he asks again. 

“You and Teddy hang out a lot. What do you two do together?” 

Fucking Christ, he’s still on this shit? “Why?”

“I’m just trying to get the lay of the land, here. Help me out.” 

Red has zero interest in doing that. He already doesn’t like the guys Teddy dates, he doesn’t want to actively assist one of their own friends trying to get involved with him. Plus, there’s his own sense of loyalty towards Josh. He’s never said anything to Red, but he doesn’t have to. They’ve known each other since they were kids, even did time in juvie together. He knows how Josh feels about Vasquez. 

And he thought he knew how Vasquez felt about Josh. 

He just thought they were too stupid to work it out, is all. 

“This is a bad idea,” he says out loud. 

That gets him waved off. “Yeah, because you have so much experience with relationships.” That’s not a fair observation. Red could have a relationship with someone if he wanted. He just doesn’t. For personal reasons. “Look, Red, it’s not always about all that passion stuff. Like I said, I like Teddy, and he’s good-looking. Me and him, we could work.”

There’s something about that that sits wrong with Red. It sounds okay, but not when applied to Teddy. Red doesn’t like the idea of Vasquez treating Teddy like he’s someone to settle for. He doesn’t like the idea of Vasquez with Teddy at all. 

But that’s for his own reasons. “He’s not into you.” That he knows, at least. 

“He could be. Again, I’m a good looking man.” Vasquez gestures at his face. “Besides, don’t you want Teddy to be happy? Thought you liked him.” 

Red does want Teddy to be happy. Just not with Vasquez. “I’m not helping you.”

“I’m not saying you have to be my best man,” Vasquez argues cheerfully. “Just, you know. What is it you two do together?”

They do a lot of things together. Teddy’s easy to be with, at least for Red. Unlike most other people, Teddy doesn’t get offended when Red doesn’t feel like talking, and he doesn’t feel the need to fill the silence either. They can just be together, without trying. He gets Red, understands him. And Red understands him. 

“Figure it out for yourself,” Red says. “Why don’t you ask Josh?” That’s a low jab, for him, but he’s also kind of pissed off at Vasquez at this point. He doesn’t like the idea that Vasquez has been maybe leading Josh on this whole time. 

So it kind of floors him when Vasquez says brightly, “It was his idea.”

That doesn’t make any sense. None of this makes any sense. 

Maybe Red’s finally going crazy. 

He doesn’t help Vasquez, in the end, but that’s because Jack calls Vasquez to come in for some follow-up. The asshole they’d taken down back in Oregon is probably only going away for five years, at most, if anything, but they’d cleaned out his assets pretty thoroughly. Right now, what Jack’s going to want to focus on is making sure the people who’d worked in the mill get their jobs back, and that the mill property is secured. That’s outside of Red’s wheelhouse, but Vasquez is good for that kind of thing. 

After he’s gone, Red gets re-acquainted with his house. Takes a shower, gets the feeling of ‘travel’ off his skin. Puts his clothes in the laundry, orders some actual groceries. That takes all of an hour, so after that, he texts Teddy. This shit with Vasquez has thrown him off. He needs to reconnect with someone sane. 

They meet at the aquarium, Teddy waiting for Red in the coral tunnel. He just saw him yesterday, but there’s a difference between seeing Teddy on the job, and now. They’re at home now, and there’s nothing pressing on them. Also, they’re here, and Red is always calmer here, with the water all around them. 

Teddy looks happy to see him, too, smiling when he sits down beside him. “Surprised to see you venturing out. Figured you’d need a week at home before you were ready to face people again.” 

“Vasquez came by.” He doesn’t need to elaborate. Teddy will assume that Vasquez said something to annoy him and drive him out. “Missed the coral.” 

“I did too. I kept meaning to go to the aquarium while we were up there in Oregon, but you were busy.” 

“Couldn’t go with Max?” He doesn’t know why he asks. He doesn’t really want to know. 

But Teddy just shrugs. “He didn’t know narwhals were real. I don’t think he would have appreciated it.” Sounds like he was about average-intelligence for one of Teddy’s ‘boyfriends’. “‘Sides, this is our thing.” It’s incredibly petty that Red likes hearing that, but it is what it is. “Come on, let’s say hello to everyone. Bet they missed us.” 

_Everyone_ are the sharks in the tank at the end of the aquarium, so Red doubts it, but Teddy thinks it’s funny to act like they can understand, and Red does too. They watch the tank, trying to find the familiar ones, including a shark with scarring all along its side and a sea turtle missing an eye that Teddy calls ‘Odin’. 

The sharks don’t seem to have missed them, but Red’s missed this. A month-long job is a long job for them, and it’s meant an entire month of really only seeing Teddy in snatches, and not getting any time to spend with him. Part of the whole thing with the guys Teddy sees is to establish an identity, Red knows. People talk to Teddy, tell him things, and finding a man who will bring him into the inner circles of town is important. Sometimes it’s just friendship, but sometimes it’s like this time. 

Red really doesn’t like it when it’s like this last time. They’re not real relationships, he knows that. But he still doesn’t like it.

It’s not like he has any right to say anything one way or the other though, so he doesn’t. Teddy can do what he wants. 

And unfortunately, that probably includes dating Vasquez. Yeah, Red really kind of hates that idea. 

“I love being home,” Teddy says. “Don’t get me wrong, I think we’re doing good in the world. As much as we can. Plus, you know. The money is nice.” That gets Red to smirk at him, and he elbows Red. “Don’t. Even Robin Hood skimmed off the top. It’s just, this time felt, I don’t know, weird?” 

“It was a long job.”

“I know, that was the problem. I actually started to buy my own lines.” Red doesn’t understand, but Teddy explains, after a minute, his hands in his hoodie pocket. “Max was always talking about all his plans for the future. Getting promoted, buying a house, getting married. Some guys do that too soon, but then I realized, I’m thirty-two. That’s the right age to be thinking about those things. And what am I thinking about? How soon I can ditch him after I copy his phone without him noticing.” 

Red doesn’t know what to say to that, besides, “You are good at that.” It’s uncanny, the shit Teddy manages to get away with. It doesn’t even seem possible most of the time, because unlike Josh, Teddy does that kind of thing in plain sight, no sleight of hand or distractions. No one ever notices, or if they do, they never say anything. Teddy just manages to exude a complete air of harmlessness. Red still catches himself falling for it. 

It’s intended as a compliment, and it does seem to be taken that way, Teddy smiling at him. “Helped that he didn’t think I was that bright. He was the one using his dog’s name for his passwords though.” He sighs. “I really liked that dog.” 

Teddy does seem to like dogs. His birthday is coming up. Maybe Red should get him a dog. He’d have to get him a dog-sitting service too, but it’s not like Red’s hurting for money. “Do you want a dog?”

“I want a lot of things,” he says lightly. “Starting with a boyfriend. A real one. One who knows me. Who actually likes me.” 

In front of them, one of the sharks swims past slowly, its gills working methodically. If it notices them, on the other side of the glass, it doesn’t show it, but something does startle it enough it suddenly twists and darts off towards another part of the tank. “Why do you say that?” Red asks, trying to figure out where that line of logic came from. 

“Max said some things. About how I never seemed to care about anything. Like I could ever tell him any of the things I care about. Or let him know me, for real.” He shrugs, still looking at the tank, the blue glow of it reflecting on his face. “Said some other stuff. It isn’t even like he matters. He didn’t even know my real name.” 

It sounds like it mattered, whatever that _some other stuff_ was. But Red doesn’t know what to say. Anything he can think of sounds like too much, and he’s not looking to overshare. So he doesn’t say anything, just stands there, feeling kind of stupid. 

After another minute, Teddy starts walking, and Red follows him, out into the botanical gardens. It really does feel good to stand in the sun again. Oregon was alright, overall, far from the worst place they had worked a job, but it had rained constantly. Here in New Mexico, the sun’s out and shining, like always. 

“Do you ever think about that kind of stuff?” Teddy asks him, leaning over to look at a plant that’s blooming now. “Relationships? Having one?”

He shrugs, not knowing how to answer. Red’s relationships consist of their group, and that’s it. He hasn’t seen his parents since his last stint in juvie, and isn’t very interested in seeking them out. Doubts they’re interested in him either. They’d told him he would be on his own after he got released, and since Josh’s mother had passed, Red and Josh had taken it to heart, and the pair of them had set off. They’d been nomadic for awhile, by both choice and necessity, sometimes separating for short stints when they had to, but mostly sticking together. 

They’d been apart, but intending to meet up after a week, when Josh hadn’t shown at the designated location. Red had been worried, but then Sam Chisolm had shown up in the apartment he was squatting in, Josh in tow, and had made him an offer. A record scrubbed clean, and a chance to make some money while doing some good in the world.

And this has been Red’s life ever since. He’d been surprised at how easy it was, when nothing else in his life had ever been. Been surprised at how easy it was to get along with the rest of them, when usually the only person he could tolerate for long periods of time was Josh. 

He’d been surprised by Teddy. He hadn’t said much to Red, at first, had mainly stuck to Emma’s side, but that had made sense in perspective. Matthew had still been recovering from the beatdown he’d taken from Blackstone operatives, and Teddy had been Emma’s only support system until she’d warmed up to the rest of them. Red had mostly just watched him, somewhat impressed by how calm Teddy always seemed to be, even when everything was going to hell. Calm, but earnest, and loyal. 

He hadn’t even risen to the bait when Josh had seemed to make it his mission in life to harass him, if only for a little while, until Josh had gotten bored with the lack of reaction. Josh had also been a little insulted, because Red knew that was his way of flirting, and Teddy hadn’t even seemed to notice. He’d bitched about it enough Red had been ready to knock him out if only to shut him up.

And maybe, yeah, probably, even then, Red had liked that Teddy wasn’t interested in Josh. It seemed like everyone they met was at the very least fascinated by Josh, even if it didn’t last long. Teddy hadn’t been. Instead, he’d actually seemed to prefer Red’s company, after Matthew started getting better, and Emma hadn’t needed him so much.

Still did. 

Red hasn’t really needed much, since meeting Sam, and getting involved with this. Or if he has, he hasn’t wanted to ask for it. 

“Doesn’t really fit our lives,” he says to Teddy, now. 

“Goody and Billy make it work,” Teddy points out. “And Emma and Matthew do too.” 

That’s true, but there’s at least one flaw in that argument. “Goody and Billy are co-dependent.” They really are. People looking in from the outside might think it only goes one way or the other, but Red knows them better. They don’t seem capable of functioning without one another. Red might not know much about relationships, but there’s something mildly unhealthy about that.

“Yeah, but that kind of works for them.” He stands up straight again, and keeps walking, Red keeping pace with him. “I’m not saying I want that. I’d just like to be with someone I can talk to. Someone I can trust.” 

Red’s kind of thinking maybe he should tell him about what Vasquez said. He doesn’t want to, though. He doesn’t want to put that thought in Teddy’s head, because it’s starting to sound to Red like Teddy might in fact be open to the idea, and the thought makes Red’s chest hurt. He’d never even considered that someone in their group might be interested in Teddy, because it had seemed kind of out of the question. Josh and Vasquez were the only two who would be, and Red had been pretty secure in the idea that they were into each other. 

Fuck it, Vasquez can do his own dirty work. And even if Teddy is open to a relationship, Red can’t see him taking Vasquez seriously. 

Some kids run by, all wearing bright blue shirts that mark them as belonging to some kind of school group, and Red pushes Teddy back against the low stone wall so he doesn’t get hit. “Jesus,” he says to Red. “Do you even remember having that much energy?” 

Even after the kids pass, they stay against the wall. “No,” Red says, shaking his head. “I was a quiet kid.” 

“It’s always the quiet ones,” Teddy says loftily. He’s still close enough Red can get a grip on him, playfully pinning one of his wrists down on the wall and blocking him with his body. “If you’re going to kill me, here’s really the best place. Bet the sharks would love it.” Red grabs him by the waist, like he’s about to pull him back into the aquarium, but Teddy fights him, or tries to, laughing. “No, I was kidding! Seriously, no, I’d like some dignity in death, alright, no, Red -!” 

Red stops, but only because more kids come past. They’re all about twelve, he guesses, which explains why one tall one feels the need to whistle at them, saying something in Spanish Red doesn’t catch, but can guess the meaning of. 

Teddy’s Spanish is better than Red’s most of the time, and he says something back, quietly, but whatever it is, the kid sneers and goes back to his friends. “I swear, we’re all little psychopaths at that age,” he says to Red. “Hormones, or whatever.” He pushes at Red just enough to get free, and pulls Red along. “C’mon, let’s go get something to eat. And not here, I ain’t looking to relive the middle school cafeteria.”

Neither is Red, so he lets himself be pulled. 

They end up getting carry-out, and going back to Red’s place. Teddy rents an apartment, for whatever reason, and Red doesn’t like being in it for long. His house is quiet. Besides, his grocery delivery is due. 

Teddy helps him put it all away when it gets there, not long after they do. He spends enough time in Red’s house he knows where everything goes, and Red feels better once it’s done, like the house is now settled. “Everything in your cabinets is dusty,” he tells Red, rinsing some glasses out in the sink for both of them. “You’re going to have to run this all through the dishwasher.”

That’s probably true, but Red doesn’t feel like doing it just yet. “Figured the cleaning service would do that.” 

“I don’t think that’s in their usual purview,” Teddy says, now rinsing some utensils. “That said, I should have hired one. My place ain’t looking great right now.” 

The red dirt in New Mexico is pretty prevalent, so Red can just bet. “Where’d you sleep?” 

“I’ve slept in worse places than a dusty bed,” Teddy scoffs, setting out the food now. “That said, I did throw everything in the wash, and my dumb ass fell asleep before I could put it in the dryer, so I had to start it all again this morning. I was lucky I even still had stuff for the laundry.” He sits down, finally, resting his chin on his hand. “I’m not good at this adult thing. I ever tell you about the time Emma and me tried to wash our clothes with Palmolive?”

He hasn’t, and Red raises his eyebrows. “You know you can’t put dishwashing soap in the washer.”

“No, we did not know that. But we learned, trust me.” He shrugs. “Don’t even, we were...sixteen, seventeen? Squatting in this rundown place out in Texas. Still had a washer hooked up, and the city had forgotten to turn the water off, so we were counting ourselves pretty lucky. Could get by with a camping lantern when it was dark. But we still didn’t have any money, not enough for laundry detergent. We figured soap was soap.”

That’s fair. Except for one problem. “It says not to put it in the washing machine on the bottle.” 

“You know, you actually _can_ , you just have to use a lot less,” Teddy argues. “‘Course, we didn’t have smart phones back then. And we sure as hell didn’t have Internet in that place.” He shakes his head, his hair falling out from behind his ears. “Lord, we used to have to go into town, use the library computers to look for work. First thing I learned how to get was a library card. That was back before you needed a picture ID to get one, good thing, because I needed the library computer to get us those fake IDs.” 

He knows a little bit about Teddy’s past, and how it involves Emma, but they don’t really talk about that kind of thing. Red’s not the kind to push, but it seems like Teddy’s in the mood to share. “How long were you and Emma running together?”

“Hm? Oh, Emma and me actually met in foster care, when we were thirteen, or thereabouts. We were in different homes, obviously, but we went to the same school, and we were in the same therapy group. We got close. Our group homes got worse. A lot worse.” While he talks, he stabs a tomato with his fork, cutting it in half before eating it. Keeps his hands too busy to stop Red from stealing one of the mushrooms out of his salad. “Quit that, you have your own. Anyway, when we were sixteen, I was finally about how tall I am now, and Emma could pass for older. So we just...took off. Not like anyone was going to come looking for us.”

All of that, Red’s mostly figured out on his own, or could have guessed, but he likes that Teddy feels okay to tell him. “Did your clothes get clean?”

“I mean, mostly. We had to use the sink to wash the soap off, but other than that, it mostly worked. And even we could work out how a laundry line worked.” This time, he’s the one who steals from Red, taking two of his tomatoes. “All this adulting stuff though, I mostly just wing it. And I’m not good at it. Stealing, lying, cheating, I can do all that, but everything normal...it’s a good thing I don’t pay taxes, I wouldn’t know how.” 

Red thinks about that. He doesn’t think he’s ever paid taxes. That last time in juvie, Josh had gotten released two months before Red. He’d only hung around town to wait for Red to get out, getting by scamming tourists and idiots with card tricks. Once Red was out, he’d kept doing them for their petty cash, but they’d gotten the majority of their income by stealing and pulling bigger scams. Either way, none of it was the kind of income a person could declare. Well, not a smart person. “I think Goody handles all that.” 

Apparently, he looks good on paper. Good enough to buy this house without anyone questioning him. He didn’t have anything to do with it, so he just assumes Goody takes care of everything concerning that. 

“What would we do without him?” Teddy asks. 

He’s not serious, but Red still says, “Be in prison.”

After they eat, while Red puts his dishes, or at least the ones he really needs, into the dishwasher, Teddy sits on the counter, watching him. “Why do you own wine glasses?” he asks, indicating the glass-fronted cabinet behind him. 

“Think they came with the house.” He vaguely remembers the house having some small things scattered about when the realtor had sent him pictures, but he hadn’t really thought much about it. “Didn’t own anything when I bought it, so I guess I never got rid of them.” He’s not even entirely sure he’s ever opened that particular cabinet, and when he says as such, Teddy does it himself, angling himself awkwardly to do it. 

He uses Red’s shoulder to keep his balance, Red letting him, even moving a little closer. “Huh,” Teddy says, holding one. “Yeah, they’re plastic. You seriously never opened this cabinet?” 

“I don’t think about it.” He doesn’t need to use the cabinet, and it wasn’t hurting anything, so he just never bothered. 

Teddy just looks at him, smiling. “You’re so weird sometimes,” he says wonderingly. “What else in this house haven’t you looked through?” 

“Closets in the other rooms,” Red says, trying to think. “Other upstairs bathroom.” He shrugs, not able to think of anything else. This is a modern-style house, so there’s not many hidden spaces. Red had chosen it because he prefers open space, both for his environment, and in case of other problems. He’s a sniper, not a brawler, not unless he has to be. “I don’t use them.” 

Well, he keeps some guns in one of the other bedrooms. But they’re on the floor, in their locked cases. He’s never really bothered with anything else in that room, except changing the light bulbs. 

“I don’t think there’s enough room in my apartment to have space not to use,” Teddy says. “There’s not much room for me, truth be told.”

Red doesn’t even know why he chooses to live there, but that’s not really his choice to make. “I like space.”

He’s not sure why Teddy is so quiet after he says that, or why he finally says, “Yeah, I know,” in such a tired kind of way. But then he says, “Sam wants to see us all tomorrow, remember. You need to be over there by ten.” He jumps down off the counter, grabbing his hoodie off the other one. Red wasn’t expecting him to leave already, but he can’t think of a reason to make him stay. “I’ll see you then.” 

And then he’s gone, and it’s back to just being Red. And the fish. He feeds them, and checks the filter. 

They’re pretty happy in their tank, he thinks. As happy as fish can be. It’s a big tank, and there’s a lot in it to keep them occupied. He’d tried to make it feel natural for them. The lights even rotate through night and day cycles. It’s on the night cycle right now, to match the dark sky outside the windows. He’s not entirely sure that fish know the difference, but Teddy had thought it was interesting when they were in the store. 

Either way, they’re happy. Well, none of them have died yet. 

The next day, he’s not entirely sure that’s going to be the case for their team, because it’s not even ten, and he’s ready to fucking kill Vasquez. 

Red had gone to the gym first, and had ended up spending longer than he meant to, enjoying being able to work out in peace. That had ended up throwing off the entire morning, because then he had to shower, and he’d had to wait about twenty minutes at the barber before he got seen to get his mohawk back. All of that made him later than he intended to be, which means he’d walked in to Vasquez sitting with Teddy on the couch, his arm around the back of it, talking about something that was making Teddy laugh. 

He was already in kind of a pissed-off mood thanks to the wait at the barber. Now he’s definitely moving into that territory. 

“What’s with your face?” And now Josh is here. With a Faygo, of all things. Red just looks at the bottle, trying to figure out where the fuck Josh got Faygo in New Mexico. “Oh, dude, guess what the Mexican grocery store had?” He waves the bottle at Red. “Redpop.” He’s smiling, because he’s a moron who apparently still thinks that’s funny.

“I hate you,” Red says, because he thought that joke was fucking dead. He didn’t even know they still made Faygo. He can’t think of why the Mexican grocery store would have it, either. It’s not Mexican. They make it in Michigan, which is the last place Red remembers seeing it, back when him and Josh were like, nineteen. 

Josh doesn’t even flinch, just takes a swig, then screws the cap back on. “If that was true, you’d have killed me years ago.” He nods his head at the couch. “So that’s a fun idea, don’t you think?” 

“You’re cool with it?” Red can’t believe that. He can’t believe any of this, up to and including that Josh somehow found fucking Redpop in New Mexico. 

“What, might be good for Q to actually date someone instead of, you know, us using him as a honeytrap. Gotta admit, been feeling some kind of sketchy about that here lately.” When Red raises an eyebrow at him, he makes a face back. “What? Even I’ve got my limits, man. And Vas would be great for him. Vas is actually _fun_.” 

That rankles at Red, but he keeps his mouth shut. Josh is free to think whatever he wants. 

“‘Sides, Vas has all these boring life goals, anyway. He wants to get married, settle down. Sort of.” He shrugs. “Much as people like us settle down, anyway. Teddy’s kind of perfect for settling.” 

It’s entirely possible Red is going to kill someone today. Vasquez or Josh. He hasn’t decided. 

Probably Vasquez first. For reasons. Plus, Josh has moved out of range now.

Vasquez almost has his arm on Teddy’s shoulders. 

But Sam walks in with Jack, and Teddy stands up, which puts a stop to whatever Vasquez was inching towards. And to whatever murderous thoughts Red was considering acting on. Helps that Teddy finds a spot by Red instead, their shoulders pressed together. He’s close enough Red can smell his conditioner. 

“Went to the barber?” he asks Red, nodding at him. 

“Missed it,” Red admits. He either shaves his mohawk off or lets his hair grow back in before a job, to keep himself non-distinct, but he prefers it when they’re home. 

Teddy smiles, raising his hand up and actually touching the side of Red’s head. “I did too.” His fingers feel good. Stupid thing to even think about, but even with how long he’s been running with these people, he’s still not really used to being touched much. “Looks good.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah. You look like yourself again.” What that means, Red’s not sure, but he guesses it’s good. “You want to do something after we finish up here? Vasquez is trying to get me to go along with him somewhere, for whatever reason. He’s got some kind of plan for the day, I guess, but he was being weird.” 

Red nods, feeling a bit vindictive over it. He’s not enough of an asshole to go out of his way to throw a wrench in Vasquez’s plans, but he’s happy to inhibit them. “See a movie?” 

“And by that, you mean, go to your house and stream one?” He knows Red well. 

“We can go to a real movie.” It’s the middle of the day, during the week. Movie theater will probably be empty. He really doesn’t want to, but he will, if that’s what Teddy wants to do. 

“I’m not subjecting other movie-goers to you.” He’s made that point before. Teddy claims Red is an asshole during movies, and he kind of is, but Teddy always laughs anyway. Which he says also makes him an asshole. “I’ll make food if you let me pick something, how about that?”

Sounds good to Red. “Nothing with white people pissing off ‘Native American’ spirits.” 

“Last time I checked, you were the one with that box set of the Amityville movies.”

“Doesn’t count. They admitted it was bullshit.” 

“How does that not count?” 

Red shrugs. It just doesn’t. 

“Whatever.” 

At that point, Sam gets started going over the last parts of the job, making sure everyone’s tied up their loose ends. No rental agreements, no real names, nothing that can tie any of it back to their real identities, or back here. And that everything with the mill is settled, which, as far as Red knows, it is. 

And of course, as always, how it all ties back to Blackstone, and Bogue. 

“Bad news is, Denali is back in play,” Sam says, using his tablet to show them security footage from somewhere on the screen. Looks like it’s from outside a prison, and yeah, there’s fucking Denali, coming out of the gates and meeting Bogue in a waiting car. “He’s been released. Conviction overturned. The usual excuses; DA had some dirty secrets that Bogue managed to dredge up. Or make up, whichever. Good news is, with him out, McCann doesn’t have free rein over their operatives anymore.” 

That’s something. Not much, but something. Red’s never been able to work out just how McCann and Denali work together when it’s pretty obvious even to him that Denali would put a bullet in McCann’s skull if he was given half a chance, but that’s not his problem anyway. He doesn’t care about McCann. Denali though, he cares about him. It’s personal, with them, about as personal as Red gets. 

Which Sam knows, and that’s why he says, “For the time being, we stay under their radar. _All_ of us. Bogue’s already going to be hurting from losing that land, and the union getting control back. Throw Denali in, Blackstone is a powder keg. There’s too much risk for casualties.” He’s looking at Red when he says it, but he looks at Emma too. 

Beside Red, he can feel how tense Teddy’s gone. His feelings towards Denali are pretty personal too, but three busted ribs and a concussion will do that, even with someone as easy-going as Teddy. Plus, what Blackstone had done to Matthew. Red wasn’t around for that part, but he knows about it. 

But for all of that, Matthew looks alright with the news. Emma’s the one who looks murderous. 

“Now, this,” the screen changes again, showing a pretty big house. “This is a possibility. But it would take us out to Texas.”

Josh pipes up. “Yeah, Red and me are going to have to pass on that.” Red just nods when Sam looks between them. 

“Do I want to know?” Sam asks. 

“Well, see, there were these rodeo clowns and some Texas Rangers -”

Sam holds up a hand. “All you have to say is ‘no’, Faraday. All I need.” 

It’s enough for Sam, but it’s not enough for Teddy. When he comes over to Red’s place again later on, the first thing he asks is, “Rodeo clowns and Texas Rangers?” 

There’s really no good way to tell that story. “Yeah.” 

“Which ones did you piss off?”

“Both.” Definitely both. “There was this girl. She was a …” Red’s not saying what the guys had called her. He goes for, “She liked rodeo riders.” She’d been alright. Red can’t remember her name, but he remembers her being fine, as far as people he had to spend time around. “She worked in the bar we were hustling pool in. Some of the clowns came in, were giving her a hard time. But, there were some other guys in there we’d pegged for law enforcement.” Which was not good for Josh and Red, so they’d been trying to make their exit. 

Red’s been moving around while he’s been talking, feeding the fish again, and pulling the shades down over the big windows along the wall, so there’s no glare on the TV. But Teddy has been trailing him, and now he’s looking out, so Red leaves the last two, figuring it can wait. It’s a good view. 

“Alright,” Teddy says. “And how exactly did it all go bad?”

It had definitely gone bad. “Josh liked her, I think. It wasn’t mutual.” Which never bothered Josh. If someone he was interested in wouldn’t give him the time of day, he was only ever bitter about it for an hour, at most. Red’s not telling Teddy, but his rejection, whether it had been intentional or not, had been the one Josh had taken the hardest. He’d been annoyed by that for a whole day, at least. “Liked her enough he didn’t like what the clowns were saying. But there were a lot of them.” 

“You know, it is surprisingly easy to picture Faraday trying to fight a bar full of rodeo clowns,” Teddy says. “How did the Texas Rangers get involved?”

It’s at this point that even Red gets confused, and he was there. “I don’t know what he did, but the next thing I knew, the Rangers were searching them for drugs.” Which they did have, to be fair. Rodeos weren’t exactly as wholesome as people liked to think. Though why anyone thought that, Red didn’t know. It was full of people willingly putting themselves on the backs of pissed-off horses and bulls. Of course there were fucking drugs coming out of the woodwork. “But then one of the clowns recognized me. They didn’t like me.”

Teddy smiles, biting his lip. “Oh, let me see if I can guess that part. While Faraday was hustling rednecks at pool, that was just a side gig. Y’all were really there so you could win anything and everything on horseback.” 

He doesn’t deny it. Red’s not fucking stupid enough to mess with the bulls or the broncos, but he’s been riding horses since he can remember. The wannabe-cowboys never had a chance. “Might have upset some rigged shit.” Because a lot of it was, with plants and regular circuit riders. “Won some money.” A lot of money. Enough that yeah, the clowns might have had a legitimate gripe.

“And is this the part of the story where it turned into a brawl, and you two managed to piss off both the Texas Rangers and rodeo clowns?” That’s pretty much exactly how it ended, and enough Rangers had gotten a good enough look at both Red and Josh that there’s a non-zero chance going back to Texas is a bad idea for both of them. “God, you two are lucky you lived long enough to even meet Sam.” 

That’s...not entirely without some merit. “What about you?”

Teddy looks at him, then smiles and shrugs. “Honestly, I’m still surprised Bogue didn’t let Denali kill me the first time. That man don’t like me too much.” 

Yeah, Red’s noticed that. Every time they’ve crossed paths, Denali seems to have it out for Teddy in particular. It doesn’t seem to have much basis, but then, Red wasn’t there for what went down between Teddy, Emma, Matthew, and Blackstone. Really, all it does is add another tally in the column for Red’s own shit with Denali. “You worried?” 

“Nah,” Teddy dismisses. “You’ve definitely pissed him off more than I ever did.” 

For that, Red makes a grab for him, Teddy making a half-hearted attempt to duck him. “You’re not going to save me?” 

“Thought last-minute rescues were more your thing, in our line of work,” Teddy points out. 

It’s not like he does it on purpose, but at this point, it’s become a thing. “Stop needing to get rescued.” 

“It’s never my fault,” Teddy protests. 

Right about then, Red hears the alarm beep, just once, indicating someone’s coming in the front door with the pass code. The way the house is laid out, the entryway echoes enough he can usually tell who’s coming in, and even if it didn’t, there’s no mistaking Josh at any volume. 

It’s the ‘why’ that Red’s not sure about. Especially since he’s not alone; he’s got Vasquez with him. 

“Red, dude, answer your phone,” Josh greets, coming in and grabbing Red’s phone off the bar, waving it around. “I’ve texted you like, ten times.” He checks the phone in question. “Twelve times, actually. Also, you got to change your password, man.” There’s nothing Red could change it too that Josh wouldn’t figure out, so Red doesn’t see the point. “I’m bored. And so is Vas.” 

Behind Josh, Vasquez shrugs. “Power is out in my neighborhood. Construction, or something.” 

“Not my problem.” 

“Aw, have a heart,” Josh cajoles, throwing himself down on Red’s couch. “We’re millenials! We can’t be expected to live without the Internet.” 

That’s bullshit; Josh and him had lived in places that didn’t even have water, much less the Internet, for a good part of their late teens and early twenties. And juvie hadn’t exactly had much in the way of amenities, at least not when they’d been locked up. Pointing that out won’t do much, though. Not like Red wants to talk about their past anyway, not with Vasquez here. Or Teddy, for that matter. 

He’s got no doubt that Teddy has his own list of regrets, from back when him and Emma were young. That doesn’t mean Red wants Teddy to know all about Red’s. They might be the good guys now, sort of, but he sure as fuck wasn’t one back then. 

But Josh doesn’t always feel the same way about some of the shit they did. He’s got no problem talking about it. 

That’s part of why Red thought Josh and Vasquez clicked so well; they both think that kind of thing is funny, in a morbid way. 

“I guess I’m cooking for four, then,” Teddy says, pushing off from the window. “Any requests? And keep in mind, this is Red’s kitchen, so there’s a limit.” 

Josh shrugs, says, “Not going to be an issue,” for some reason, then shoves at Vasquez, where he’s leaning against the back of the couch. “Why don’t you lend a hand, Vas?” It’s overtly said, an obvious hint, that Vasquez goes along with, heading into the kitchen to join Teddy.

While he does that, Josh gets up off the couch and ambles over to Red, raising his eyebrows. “Look at that, your kitchen’s actually getting some use,” he says. “And Vas is getting some bonding time in with Suzy Q.” 

Great. He was going to ask why they didn’t just hang out at Josh’s place, but that answers that question. He also wants to ask _why_ Josh is so on board with this, but he knows Josh better than anyone, and Red can’t detect any sign of this bothering him. Was he really that wrong about him and Vasquez? 

“This is a bad idea,” Red says out loud. 

“You think all my ideas are bad ideas,” Josh scoffs, then sobers up when Red just keeps looking at him. “Hey, some of my ideas work out pretty good, alright? We’re alive, aren’t we?” Through no small amount of sheer dumb luck, in Red’s opinion. But that’s how Josh has always operated, and somehow, it does tend to work. The same way some people are just constantly unlucky, Josh is always stupidly lucky. It doesn’t even make sense, half the time. 

So really, Red should be used to it, and usually, he just goes with it. But not on this. 

But if Josh knew, he never would have suggested it. He’s an asshole, yeah, but he’d never do anything to hurt Red. Red’s never told him, though. Wouldn’t even know how. There’s nothing to really tell. 

Over in the kitchen, Vasquez is showing Teddy something involving a pan, the heavy cast-iron skillet that had come with the set Goody had bought for Red back when he got the house. It’s never been used, Red not really knowing how, but it looks like that’s going to change. Teddy seems genuinely interested too, bracing himself on his elbows against the counter, and watching. 

Red doesn’t have the right to get mad at Vasquez, or Josh. But he still is. “This is a bad idea,” he says again. “It’s incestuous.” 

“No, incest would be us dating,” Josh replies. There’s a thought Red wasn’t looking to have, and it definitely shows on his face, because Josh claps him on the shoulder and says, “Right there with you, buddy. Regretting I even said it out loud.”

It’s far from the first time Josh has said something neither of them needed to hear. It’s probably why Red’s gotten so good at tuning people out. 

“You know what this little shindig needs?” Red looks at Josh, raising his eyebrows. “Liquor.” 

That’s the last thing Red needs, most of the time. He doesn’t have a problem with alcohol, he just doesn’t like being drunk. Right now though? Right now, that actually sounds like a great idea. 

Then Josh adds, “And our friends.” 

“They’ve got lives.” 

“Yeah, yeah, that’s true, but coming over might in fact be in their plans for the evening,” Josh says. “Surprise.” When Red keeps glaring at him, trying to decide if he’s going to get pissed off over this or not, Josh says, quietly, “Happy belated birthday, buddy.” 

Oh shit. “Did you tell them?”

“Might have mentioned it.” 

Red’s going to kill him, one day. Possibly today. 

Honestly, _Red_ had forgotten that his birthday had passed while they were in Oregon. He’s been using fake IDs for so long, sometimes he really does have to think about it before he remembers which birthdate is the real one. Besides that, he’d turned thirty-two, so it wasn’t like his birthday even mattered anymore. But of course Josh remembered. 

And of course he’s using it as an excuse for a party, of sorts. 

And _of course_ , the rest of their friends show up. Red’s been set up. 

“Is the power even out at your house?” he asks Vasquez, while watching the others sit around the dining room table, playing a trivia game. 

“No,” Vasquez tells him cheerfully, pouring Red a shot of vodka. “C’mon, we just got home. Everyone wants to relax, for real. It’s as good a reason as any.” He pushes the shot glass towards Red. “Drink that.” 

He does. He doesn’t even like vodka, but he does. 

“We’re home, the job was a success, Denali is probably going to beat the shit out of McCann at some point soon,” Vasquez says, ticking things off on his fingers. “Everyone we love and care about is safe. We have alcohol. We have money for the good stuff. And it’s your birthday. Kind of.” 

“I’m thirty-two,” Red still points out. 

“So, I’m thirty-four, I still want a party.” He pours another shot for both himself and Red. “Think of it like we’re making up for those years you and Josh spent in juvie.” He had spent a couple of the good birthdays locked up. And if there has to be a party, this is probably what he would choose. His friends, in his own house. 

The alcohol might help, too, he thinks, downing the second shot. And the third, when Vasquez pours him that one, but that’s because he’s noticed that Teddy has a glass of something in his hand, half-empty already. Red’s not going to be able to deal with that sober. 

“Lord, are you actually drinking?” Goody asks, sounding scandalized. 

Fuck him, Red’s an adult. And Goody doesn’t need to be talking about anyone else’s drinking habits. He’s probably flammable at this point in the evening. “Shut up,” he tells Goody, without any real venom. “It’s my birthday.” Sort of. 

Goody grins, and reaches out, stopping just before he touches Red to check, like he always does. When Red doesn’t move away, he hugs Red, even standing up on his toes so he can kiss Red on the cheek, Red allowing it. “And we are all damn grateful you’ve got one,” he says cheerily. “Don’t know what we’d do without you around to pull our feet out of the fire.” 

“We’d be a lot more dead,” Vasquez says. 

Stupid thing to say, even if it’s true, and Red grins, taking the water Vasquez hands him next. 

The trivia game is starting to get heated, like it always does. Emma especially is always good for that. Doesn’t help that Sam and Billy egg her on. Right now, Sam is sitting back, with a vape in hand, watching Billy and Emma argue about some Star Trek question. No, wait. First interracial kiss. Which involves Star Trek. “It was not!” Emma declares. “It was that show about Hawai’i!” 

“Star Trek,” Billy insists. “Card says so.”

“The card is wrong!”

From where he’s leaning against Emma’s chair, Red hears Teddy say, “All of us have smartphones,” but no one listens. 

Vasquez, laughing, decides to wade in. Despite his now alright mood, Red is annoyed when Vasquez chooses to stand by Teddy, resting his arm on Teddy’s shoulder. “No one’s going to bring up _I Love Lucy_? Dashing Hispanic man and his very ginger wife?” 

“Wasn’t Desi Arnaz Cuban?” Matthew asks. “Does that count?” 

“Do not open that can of worms,” Sam says, pointing at him. 

“It only doesn’t count to Cubans,” Vasquez still says, scoffing. 

This time, it’s not a request. “Drop the subject, now,” Sam insists. “Card’s wrong, point goes to no one.” Just to drive the point home, he plucks the card out of Billy’s hand and rips it in half. “It’s a party. No fighting. And especially not over stupid shit.” 

Like that’s ever stopped any of them before. But then Jack draws the next card, and that’s that. 

Except for Goody, still beside Red, who says, “I brought that game from home, Sam.” 

He should know better than to bring anything he values into Red’s house. A lot of stuff gets broken in here. Not Red’s stuff. His friends know better. But other people’s stuff. It’s a consequence of their lifestyle. 

He locked up all his guns, didn’t he? Yeah. He’s pretty sure. They’re unloaded, even if they’re not. 

“What’s going on there?” Now Goody’s just talking to Red, hitching his chin towards the table. Vasquez hasn’t moved away from Teddy, his arm now slung around Teddy’s shoulders. “Wasn’t aware Vasquez had any intentions towards our Teddy Q.” 

Red shrugs, takes a swig of his water, and puts it down. 

“Uh-huh,” Goody drawls, reading something from that. “Well, I can’t see that going anywhere, truth be told. Vasquez’s got a little too much fire in his soul for Teddy.” Red can’t hear an insult in that, but he’s not sure. His head is getting a little cloudy. “Nah, Vasquez needs someone more like him. Won’t be happy any other way.” 

That’s a little too maudlin for Red, or at least it would be. He’d started drinking before everyone showed up, Josh having brought a whiskey he’d bought for the occasion. The good kind, the kind they never even knew existed when they were kids. It’s been long enough he knows that’s what’s messing with his head, and the vodka will help it along. Messing with his head enough he asks, “And Teddy?” 

“It’s a funny thing, ain’t it, how people say you need someone different from you? That don’t make for any long-term happiness, in my opinion. Look at Billy and me,” he looks over to where Billy is, smiling. “Me and him are just alike, underneath it all.” That doesn’t have shit to do with Teddy, at least not how Red can see. “‘Course, we got lucky. Figured out right from the start that we were just right for each other. Not everyone’s like that, though. Takes some folks awhile.” 

Again, Red doesn’t see what any of that has to do what he asked, but Goody tends to ramble even when he’s sober. Usually about nothing in general. Sometimes poetry, or old stories. Red will never tell, but he likes it, a lot of the time. It passes the time. “What about me?” Yeah, he’s definitely heading towards drunk. 

“What about you?” Goody quips. “You looking to fall in love, Red?” 

No, he’s not. Or, he wasn’t. That kind of thing wasn’t supposed to happen to him. Just kind of did. 

Goody isn’t bothered by him not answering. “Good day to do it,” is all he says. “Oh, Jesus, I think Billy’s looking to start trouble.” He heads over to intervene, or maybe to make it worse. Who knows with them.

“What a twist,” Red remarks, mostly to himself. Yep. He drank too much, too quick, if he’s voicing that out loud. 

Whatever. His friends seem to find it funny, on the rare occasions he’s been drunk around them, so he joins everyone else, sitting down at the table. He’s not surprised when Teddy abandons Vasquez and Emma both to lean against his chair instead. Vasquez is probably creeping him out, and Emma’s reaching the point even Teddy won’t want to be in the line of fire. 

The alcohol has apparently hit Teddy too, because after a few minutes, his hand falls to Red’s shoulder instead of the back of the chair. It’s how he gets when he’s been drinking, why Red doesn’t like it when he does. Teddy gets _affectionate_. Not overtly, but enough it starts to get into Red’s head in a way that’s not good for him.

But usually, Red’s not drinking himself. He has been this time, has another drink in his hand even, pushed to him by Josh, so right now, his brain’s not understanding why that’s a bad thing. He likes it when Teddy touches him, doesn’t he? And it’s not like Red’s pushing him to do it. So why is it a problem? 

It’s not, he decides. Teddy’s paying attention to him, and not Vasquez, or any other guy. Just Red. 

Turns out that Sam’s got something with THC in it in his vape, and since it’s Red’s birthday, sort of, he shares. Red’s mostly quit smoking at this point in his life, the habit more a byproduct of living in close quarters with Josh for so much of his life, but it’s good right now. Better when some of them go to sit on the patio so Billy can roll them all a joint. He’s not so far gone he’ll let them smoke in his house, but he still lets them leave the doors open so people can go in and out, or yell at each other. 

“Did you buy this stuff?” Emma asks, tapping the chair she’s sitting in. 

“Came with the house,” Red replies. Whether it had belonged to the old owner, or had been part of the staging by the realtor, he has no idea. It’s decent outdoor furniture, if not kind of sterile. He can sit out here, is all he cares about. And when his friends invade his house, they can too. 

He loves New Mexico, he thinks. Loves that everything is easier here, for him at least. He’s not the only Native person walking around town, and even though he doesn’t belong to either tribe, it’s nice. To not be alone. Or even be an interesting sight. Hell, he’s damn sure they’re far from the only criminals taking refuge here. 

There’s freedom, here. To be left alone. 

“Know what you mean,” Vasquez says. Shit, was Red talking out loud? “Can speak Spanish here, ain’t no big thing. Don’t feel like I’m so far from home.” He sits back, exhales smoke. The sun is setting now, sky colorful from it. “Fuck it, no one even cares who I date. This place is like that.” He leans over, elbows on knees, and takes another hit. “What about you, Suzy Q.?”

“Oh no, alright, bad enough Faraday calls me that, don’t you start too,” Teddy groans, getting further into Red’s space, like he’s trying to hide. “That song is older than us. I don’t even think I’ve ever heard it.” 

Faraday laughs, but looks a little confused, taking the joint from Vasquez and stealing a hit. “It’s a song? I was talking about the cake.” When everyone looks at him, even Red, he makes a face. “You know, the little Hostess cakes. The chocolate ones.” 

Shit, now Red knows what he’s talking about. “The ones they used to pass out in juvie?” He didn’t know if the prison had some kind of deal with Hostess or something, but there had always been snacks from them with their meals. “I forgot about those.” He doesn’t see how; they’d been as good as currency in there. “I liked them.” 

“I know, asshole, you used to take mine.” 

Yeah, Red did. He hasn’t thought about them in forever, but yeah. They’d been a chocolate cake with creme filling, like an ice cream sandwich. He had no idea why he liked them so much when he was in juvie. Probably because he’d hit his final growth spurt when he’d been in, and he’d always been fucking hungry. He’d shot up another five inches, and calories had been calories as far as his body was concerned. “Do they still make them?” He wants one, suddenly. 

Teddy’s looking at something on his phone; the cakes, it turns out. “Looks like the grocery store has them. You want me to do a delivery order?” 

Not really thinking about it, just that his arm is uncomfortable from Teddy’s weight, he raises it up and puts it across Teddy’s shoulders. “See if they will.” 

They won’t, it turns out, but then Vasquez has the bright idea to call a ride-share to go to the grocery store. “Come on, Suzy Q.,” he cajoles, grabbing Teddy’s hand and pulling him away from Red. “Let’s go on an adventure.” 

“Lord, that’ll be something,” Emma says, getting up and following them. 

Red doesn’t. He’s having a hard time making his legs listen, for one, and for two, Josh has taken Teddy’s spot, Vasquez’s abandoned joint in hand. “Here, man,” he says, passing it to Red. “I don’t think I’ve seen you this drunk since...I don’t know, forever.” 

He shrugs. He didn’t think Vasquez would take Teddy with him. Maybe Emma too, judging from the sounds inside. “Why’s Vasquez taking him?”

“Oh, you know, trying to get some face time with him,” Josh says breezily. 

This doesn’t make sense to Red sober. It definitely doesn’t make sense now. “What about you and Vasquez?” 

“Why do you say that?” There’s something off with Josh’s tone. He’s smiling, but now that Red’s not wrapped up in his own stuff, he can hear it. “Me and Vas are just friends. Buddies. _Compadres_.” 

Bull _shit_. “You’re lying.”

“Why would I lie?” That’s a good question, one Red can’t answer, but he knows Josh. And Josh is lying through his fucking teeth. 

“Whatever fucking game you and Vasquez are playing, don’t pull Teddy in.” Some kind of bet, or something. That has to be it. Josh wouldn’t see anything wrong with it, because that kind of shit doesn’t bother him. And Vasquez isn’t much better. “It’s not funny.”

“You have no idea how funny this is,” Josh refutes, which also doesn’t make any damn sense. 

“What?” 

Josh pats his cheek. “Calm down, dude. No one’s looking to fuck with Suzy Q.’s little heart.” Then he stands up, stretching. “Jesus fucking wept, we’re getting old, man. Think we might actually live to retirement age.” The subject change throws Red off-balance, more so than he already is. “Time to start planning for the future. Thinking about what we want.” 

He’s really confusing Red. “What?”

“Christ Almighty, it’s like talking to the damn wall,” Josh says. “Juvie fucked you up, man.” 

That’s probably true, but Red doesn’t see what it has to do with anything. “What?”

“What?” 

“Don’t do that.” He hates it when Josh does this; answer questions with questions. “What are you up to?”

“Right now? I’m getting another drink.” 

He goes inside, leaving Red sitting alone on the patio for a minute, until Matthew wanders out. That’s alright. Red likes Matthew. “Good to know,” Matthew says. Shit. Red’s still voicing his thoughts out loud. “Okay, seeing you drunk is just plain weird. Not a bad kind of weird, but still weird.” 

“You sober?” 

“One of us has to be, especially if you’re not.” Red thinks he’s a little insulted by that. “No offense meant, man, but you’re kind of a wild card sober. Don’t ever know how you’re going to act drunk.” He hitches his chin at the ashtray. “And high.” That doesn’t seem to stop him from taking a hit off his own vape. “Don’t make that face at me, I’ve only had enough to take the edge off. My shoulder’s hurting me. Damn pins.” 

Red’s been lucky, in that respect. All the dumb shit he’s done, all the violence he’s been involved in, and he’s still never even so much as broken a bone. “They hurt a lot?” 

“Your body can only take so much abuse,” Matthew says. “And mine definitely took more than its fair share that day.” He takes another hit, then offers it to Red, who does too. “You alright, man? You’ve been kind of tense since we got back.” 

Usually, Red would just shrug, but when he drinks, or smokes, he feels better about talking. It’s not that he can’t talk, on a regular basis. He just never knows what to say, half the time. And when he’d been in juvie, it had been better to keep his mouth shut and his head down. The habit just sort of stuck. Not the keeping his head down part. He wasn’t all that good at that part even when he was in juvie. 

Inebriation loosens his brain up though. And he’s pretty far gone, right now. “Josh and Vasquez are up to something.”

“So?”

“Something involving Teddy.” 

He sees Matthew roll his eyes. “Uh-huh. Well, that explains that.”

“Explains what?” 

“Why you give a fuck.” 

It only takes Red a second to piece together Matthew’s words and the annoyed, knowing look on his face. Matthew knows. How he knows, Red can’t figure out, but either way, it makes him uncomfortable. If Matthew knows, there’s a chance Emma does, and if Emma knows...shit. “It’s not like that,” he tries to deflect. 

“Christ, it’s like high school,” Matthew mutters. “Don’t worry, I ain’t told anybody else.” Red doesn’t think he deserves the mocking tone. Or maybe he does. This is kind of high school-ish. He thinks. He didn’t get to attend much. “But seriously, what all is going on?”

Red sits up straighter, trying to think through the fog. “Vasquez is into him. I guess. Maybe?” 

“Oh, that’s a match made in Hell,” Matthew scoffs. “Got about a snowball’s chance of happening, too.” That makes Red grin, even if it’s not very nice. Vasquez is his friend, yeah, but...whatever. Red doesn’t think anyone could hold it against him, if they knew the whole of it. “Ain’t worth you sulking over. Teddy’s too smart for that.” 

Too smart for Vasquez’s bullshit, he means. And yeah, Teddy is. He’s easy-going, but he knows people better than most. It’s why he’s always the...what was that word Josh used? _Honeytrap_. Even when it’s not what that shit was with Max, people never see him as a threat. They underestimate him. Red doesn’t. Red knows how smart Teddy is, how valuable. Red values him. 

Red’s in love with him. 

It wasn’t on purpose. It just sort of happened without him even noticing. 

He keeps that to himself though. It’s not like Teddy’s looking for that from him. They’re friends. And it’s not Red’s business what Teddy does or doesn’t do. Red just doesn’t want it to be Vasquez. 

Takes no time at all for them to get back from the grocery store, but then, Red’s kind of drunk. Time has no meaning anymore. They come back with the snack cakes, two boxes of them, like they even need that many. But Teddy takes back his spot beside Red, and Red drops his arm back around Teddy’s shoulders. He’s still choosing to stay near Red above everyone else, and Red likes that. 

“Okay, I can see why these were currency for teenage boys,” Teddy admits. “They’re like, ninety-percent sugar. Or corn syrup. I didn’t read the ingredients.” 

“Don’t,” Red cautions. They still taste the same. He really did like these things, didn’t he? It wasn’t just the circumstances. 

“These are terrible,” Goody disagrees, letting Billy have the rest of his. “Bad enough they locked you up as kids, this is what they were feeding you?” He shakes his head. “It’s disgraceful.” 

“Dude, Goody, you cannot ever go to prison,” Josh says. “You would die.” 

“I am well aware of that, thank you very much. That is why I am an upstanding, law-abiding, citizen -”

He doesn’t even get to finish. Even Red’s laughing, just a little, and Teddy’s laughing against him, his breath on Red’s chest. It feels good, feels so good, to have him right here against Red, warm and happy. Red tightens his arm a little, so he stays where he is. Teddy’s drunk enough he doesn’t seem bothered. Or maybe he would always be okay with being this close to Red, if Red was more open about that kind of thing. 

People start leaving right around then, Sam starting it with some complaint about being too old to be up this late. Once he goes, the others take that as their cues to peel off too, and then it’s just Red, with Teddy, Josh, and Vasquez. 

“You’re drunk, Suzy Q.,” Josh says. “Time to go home. Come on, you can share a ride with us.” 

Teddy waves them off. “Go on, Red and me are going to watch a movie.” 

“We are?” Red asks before he remembers that yeah, that was their plan, wasn’t it? They were going to watch a movie. That sounds like a good way to end the night. “Yeah. Movie.” 

“Okay, then,” Josh says. “I’ll believe it.” There’s something about the way he says it that rings that warning bell in Red’s head, reminds him that he’s annoyed with him and Vasquez for some reason. They’re up to something. Something involving Teddy. “Have fun with your movie.” 

When they leave, Red sees something that further cements his suspicions. At the door, when Josh is checking for his phone and shit, the ride-share waiting outside, Vas puts his hand on Josh’s back, waiting for him. He’s seen other people do that. Billy does that to Goody whenever they’re standing around. 

The pieces don’t quite click together just yet, but he blames that on the alcohol. Possibly the weed, too. He doesn’t remember how much he’s smoked. Or drank. The answer is probably ‘too much’ for both anyway. 

He picks the movie. _Paranormal Activity_ , the first one. Him and Teddy always have a running commentary for it, and even if it’s usually the same, it’s still fun. 

“Even I wouldn’t be scared of a demon that trips over a hallway table,” Teddy says, as the hallway camera shows the demon doing just that, apparently. Wait, was it just a ghost in this movie? He doesn’t remember. 

“You would,” Red argues. “You’d text me.” 

“Oh? You’re going to come save me?” 

He’s somehow ended up pressed up against Red again on the couch. They’re both a little too drunk, but the house is kind of cold, so that might be it. “I always save you,” Red jokes. Sort of. It’s not just Teddy. Red’s a sniper, until he has to be a brawler, and that means his role is usually as the cavalry. “Silver bullets. It’s not just werewolves, right? Supernatural shit doesn’t like silver.” He’d read a lot of books when he was in juvie, and got into the habit. “Silver bullet. No more demon.” 

“If you say so,” Teddy agrees. “I’ll trust your judgement.” They’ve both seen this movie a hundred times, so they can talk during it, even drunk. “How did you get so good at that? Fighting? And with guns and stuff?” 

Red thinks about it some, trying to decide what he can talk about. But his brain is foggy, and he can’t think of why he shouldn’t tell the truth. It’s Teddy. “I was always good at it. First time I shot a gun, I was five. Denali thought it would be funny, that I’d hurt myself, but I hit the target.” 

Oh. Right. That’s why. He can feel Teddy looking at him, and shit. _Shit_. 

“You knew Denali when you were a kid?” 

“He’s my uncle,” Red says, because there’s no point in lying. It is what it is. “He was a really shitty uncle.” 

Teddy looks at him, very seriously, and for a second, Red thinks he’s opened a conversation he doesn’t want to have, but then Teddy just nods. “Yeah, I can see that.” He ducks his head down, rests his forehead on Red’s shoulder, then mumbles. “If it makes you feel better, I slept with McCann once.” 

That doesn’t make Red feel better. He says it out loud. “He’s an asshole. McCann is an asshole. You should stop dating assholes.” 

“I think I’m just attracted to jerks,” Teddy sighs. “I really am. I’m so stupid. I always pick the worst guys.” 

That gets Red back on the other subject. “Like Vasquez?” 

“He’s not my type.” That kind of makes Red smile. He knew he was right. Fuck Vasquez. And Josh. And whatever it is they’re up to. He doesn’t want them doing anything to Teddy. He should tell Josh why. Josh would back off if Red told him why. Why hasn’t he told Josh why? It’s not like he’d care. Red should tell him. “I always pick assholes who are mean to me.”

Red’s kind of an asshole. He knows that. But he’s not that kind. “I’d be nice to you.”

“You’re always nice to me,” Teddy says, turning so he’s pressed against Red again, looking at the TV. “You’re so nice to me, in all the right ways. It’s why I like you so much.” 

And they’re both drunk. 

Probably why Teddy says, “I like you too much, Red.” It’s really quiet. He probably thinks Red can’t even hear him, because of the noise from the TV.

Some part of Red thinks he knows what Teddy means, but everything is too muddy in his head. Fuck, he shouldn’t have had so much to drink. Fucking Josh. This is all his fault. 

He’s still blaming Josh when he wakes up in the morning, closer to noon than he wants to admit, but he’s thirty-two now, not twenty-two, and he almost never drinks to start with. He should probably start taking responsibility for his own shitty decisions, but, well, that’s kind of what he has Josh for. He’s convenient like that. 

Teddy slept on the couch, but he’s gone when Red comes downstairs. He started the coffee for him though. 

Thinking about Teddy gets a weird, nagging feeling started somewhere in his head. Something about last night. Something about Teddy. Something...something serious. But he can’t remember now. Damn it, this is why he doesn’t fucking drink. 

Whatever it was, it doesn’t seem to have left any lasting repercussions amongst their friends, so Red just kind of forgets about it over the next few weeks. There’s not a lot of room in his head for an emotional crisis. He’s not sure he’s even capable of one, anyway. It’s not really his thing. 

So he just spends his time doing what he always does. He goes to the range and practices, sometimes with Jack, sometimes on his own. He goes to the gym. He boxes with Billy. He goes to the aquarium once a week with Teddy, and even goes with him to the actual movie theater when they’re having one of their ‘special events’, showing _Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid_. 

“Who names themselves ‘Sundance Kid’?” Red mutters. 

“I know you’re not offended,” Teddy says, less quietly, but they’re pretty much alone in the middle section anyway. He offers Red a Red Vine. “So don’t even try.”

“I am,” Red replies, getting what Teddy means. “I’m offended by how stupid that name is.” 

“Well, his real name was Harry Longabaugh, so he didn’t have much to work with,” Teddy reminds him. “Not everyone gets a name like ‘Red Harvest’.” Red kind of has to give in on that point. _Harry_ doesn’t really leave much of an impression. _Sundance Kid_ might be stupid, but at least people remember it a hundred years later. 

Sam gets them a job out in Arizona, a low-key one this time, but one that fits into their long-term goals. It’s an in-and-out heist, the kind of thing Red could do in his sleep. Tech companies fighting over who owns what ideas their employees come up with isn’t anything new, but in this case, the first one apparently stole the hard drive with the original blue prints from the second one after the first one lost a genius employee to them. Now the first one is looking for an investor. Red thinks they’re all assholes, but the pay is good, and there’s rumors Bogue is interested in investing. Red doesn’t know what Bogue wants with it, and he doesn’t fucking care. He just doesn’t want him to have it. 

And the ones who stole the blueprints are kind of the bigger assholes anyway, if the employee is telling the truth. Who puts tracking apps on their employees’ phones?

Red’s playing the part of the bodyguard this time, to Vasquez’s eccentric millionaire. Sam’s put Teddy into play in his usual part; he’s allegedly Vasquez’s interpreter, but really, he’s there to be the lure for the arrogant tech bros, to get them comfortable. . 

It’s working, but then, it always does. Red doesn’t think Vasquez needs to lay it on so thick though. He’s being the asshole boss, the one who treats his employees like playthings. It’s pretty obvious to the tech bros and Red just what kind of plaything Teddy supposedly is to him. It’s an act, Red knows it, and it shouldn’t mean a damn thing to him. 

Except Vasquez hasn’t let up on this idea of him and Teddy having some kind of future. He hasn’t been creepy about it or anything, but he keeps asking Teddy over to his place to help him host meals, shit like that. That, combined with this part he’s playing, the shit he’s saying in Spanish right now, it’s getting under Red’s skin. Which is bullshit, they’re _working_. But he’s still annoyed.

He’s not hiding it too well either, turns out. He steps outside to smoke, which he’s supposed to do, to leave Teddy alone with some of the guys while Vasquez gets given a tour, setting the trap, but two follow Red outside, and light their own cigarettes. Red doesn’t think anything of it, until one says, “So your boss is a real asshole.” 

Red shrugs. This isn’t really his role, but Goodnight’s in his ear, quickly telling him to roll with it. 

Then the other guy says, “Seriously dick move, hitting on your boyfriend right in front of you.”

 _Shit_. In his ear, Goody is actually quiet for a second, and Red wouldn’t know what to do right now even if he wasn’t so thrown. So he just shrugs again. Says, “He’s not my boyfriend. We just work together.” 

“Sure,” the first guy drawls. “Nah, it’s cool, man. Your boss would be pissed, right?” 

Goody comes back on, tells him that some of the guys still inside are questioning Teddy too, so keep it vague, but let them believe what they want to. It’s a good move. Makes them think they’ve found a weak spot. “Reyes doesn’t like us being friendly,” he says, word-for-word what Goody’s saying in his ear. 

“Reyes seems pretty damn friendly with Gaines,” one of the guys says. “Looks like _you_ don’t like it much.” 

_“Since when do you go off-script?”_ Goody bitches at him. _“You and Teddy are just supposed to be co-workers, where are they getting this?”_

But Red’s got an idea, and now he thinks he knows what to say. “Reyes has the money to get what he wants. He doesn’t really care how. Or who it bothers.” That’s what guys like this want to hear. They want to hear that Vasquez’s character is exactly the kind of investor they can trust with their own shady dealings. 

He knew this was going to be an easy job. 

It’s about ten hours later that he’s seriously re-thinking that. They’ve got the original hard drive in hand, exactly where it was when they gave ‘Reyes’ his tour, but they’re still trying to extract themselves from the building, and it’s not going well. Turns out the tech bros have decent security.

Red really hates it when people shoot at him. 

“They shot me!” Vasquez is somehow still whining about that. They shot him with a rubber bullet, and it hit him in the vest. He’ll be fine. A bruised rib or two, maybe. “You are a lousy ass bodyguard, you know that?” 

“Go fuck yourself,” Red mutters. He’s irritated, sue him. 

“You know what, no, fuck you,” Vasquez hisses. “You fucking asshole, why don’t you ever get shot? Every time we pull this con, I get hurt. This is some bullshit.” 

Christ, Red just wants him to _shut up_. He’s so tired of Vasquez talking at this point, weeks of build-up finally reaching the boiling point. This isn’t the time or place, he knows it, but he’s stressed and pissed off. “Quiet,” he hisses. He can’t think, he can’t see what he’s doing, there are people gunning for them, and he’s stuck in this building -

He doesn’t have time for this. They need to get to Josh on the next level. 

Good thing about Vas though, much as he bitches, he keeps it to Spanish, and he keeps fucking moving. They need to keep moving. They’ve managed to outsmart the security for right this second, Josh having shut off the power and the WiFi in the building, but it’ll only slow them down for so long. 

“If it isn’t my two favorite people,” Josh drawls when they finally get to him. “Alright, ears.” Red covers his ears at the same time Vasquez does, and the floor vibrates under their feet. Josh has already got plugs in. “I fucking love my job.” 

Red kind of loves Josh’s job, too. He hasn’t done any structural damage; they’re not actually out to kill anyone, not on this job, at least. But an explosion will keep them distracted, and gives them time to get the fuck out of here. 

Outside, Emma’s waiting for them. “Seriously? I thought the explosion was a last resort?”

“Vas is hurt,” Josh says, and then points at Red from the backseat. “Don’t even, you know rubber bullets can cause some serious hurt. Vas needs his lungs to live.” 

That’s not Red’s problem. And he’s not even all that mad about it either. Vas is fine. If he can complain, his lungs are both in one piece. Maybe this will keep him out of play for awhile, too. Bruised ribs don’t leave you much to do but lay on the couch. Red’s not opposed to that. 

He probably shouldn’t share that he feels that way. People might get the wrong idea. 

After about a week back home though, he starts feeling a little differently. The thing is, pissed off as this whole thing has gotten him, Vasquez is his friend. And it’s not like he knows why Red is mad. It’s not even like Red has any right to be mad. 

So he heads over to Vas’ place, intending on seeing if he needs anything, or maybe just keep him company. The guy has been bored as fuck since they got back, and he was ordered to rest. Vas is a lot like Josh; neither of them like holding still for long. Red lets himself in, using the passcode on the hidden box, thinking about maybe offering to order Vas some food, but that kind of all goes right out of his head once he gets inside. 

Josh is standing in Vas’ kitchen, in pajama pants and a tee shirt Red knows belongs to Vas, drinking straight out of the orange juice bottle. 

A memory comes back, dredged up from the drunken haze of that party at his house, of Vas putting his hand on Josh’s back. He’d been confused then, drunk and not quite able to make the pieces click, but they’re clicking right now. 

Yeah, the anger’s back. 

“Shit,” Josh curses. “Shit, alright, before you kill me -” He holds up a hand when Red makes like he’s going to go for him, putting the orange juice down on the counter. “Before you kill me! Remember everything we’ve been through, alright?”

“What the fuck was this shit?” Red’s not going to kill him, but he’s definitely leaning towards causing some damage. “You two wanted a threesome?” He wouldn’t put it past either of them. Especially not Josh. “Or you just thought it was fucking funny?” 

“I mean, not gonna lie, man, the second part was a big factor, but no, I’m not into Q.” He wipes at his mouth, and leans on the counter, trying to smile at Red, but Red’s not in the mood. “Neither is Vas, really. And more good news, Teddy Q. definitely isn’t into either of us.” 

“I told you that,” Red says, feeling lost. He’s annoyed, really annoyed, but at this point, he’s mostly confused. “What were you even trying to pull?” 

Josh crosses his arms and looks up at the ceiling, groaning. “Dude, you have the social skills of a fucking rock, I swear.” That’s not news. Red’s pretty self-aware, he likes to think. What that has to do with this though, he doesn’t know. “Vas and me, we got ourselves sorted after that job in Colorado. We just, you know, were trying to keep it quiet. Just until we were sure we could work long-term. We’re all too old for drama, and me and him figured if it was quiet, and it didn’t work out, it wouldn’t bother anyone else.” 

That makes some kind of sense. Josh can be an asshole, but he doesn’t like putting his personal shit out there if he doesn’t have to. If he was starting something real with Vas, he’d want to keep it private. 

“That doesn’t explain why you were fucking with Teddy.” 

“Dude, I don’t care about Q. I was fucking with you.” 

That tracks. Josh and him have a long history of messing with each other just to do it. And unfortunately, that long history means Josh knows him better than anyone else, and the only reason he’d use Teddy to mess with Red is if he knows. Because of course he knows. “That wasn’t cool.” It wasn’t. It really wasn’t. 

“You really think Vas would risk that shit for a joke?” Josh asks. “I had an actual noble motive, fucker.” Red looks at him, raising his eyebrows. “I figured if you thought Vas might be moving in, you’d finally do something. Because it’s gotten to the pathetic point, Red. In fact, that point? That point is way back there. You two are _sad_.” 

Now Red’s come back around to confused. 

Josh stares at him for a second, then says, “Social skills of a fucking rock. Jesus wept, you’d be dead without me. You know that right?” When Red flips him off, Josh does the same. “Hey, asshole, at least I know when someone is into me too.” He leans over the counter, so he can flick Red in the head, surprising Red enough he doesn’t quite manage to land a real hit on him in retaliation. “Teddy isn’t into Vas, dumbass, because he’s in love with you. Which you were supposed to work out on your own when he was practically in your fucking lap at that party.”

“He gets like that when he’s drunk.”

“No, he gets like that with you. And you let him, which, you know, that’s saying a lot.” It does, but Red already knew that part. “Were you seriously just going to let Vas win?” 

He knows what Josh means, but he still has to fight the urge to say that Teddy isn’t a prize. He’s not. He’s a person. One that Red’s in love with. “I don’t know.” 

“That’s just sad,” Josh says.

Now Red punches him in the arm. Hard. 

“I deserved that.” 

Red goes home. Feeds his fish. Sits on his couch and watches them for awhile, trying to think. Even Josh has apparently gotten his shit together enough to try for something real. It makes sense. They’re not kids anymore, not running from everything. They’re not trying to find anything anymore, either. They’ve found where they fit. 

And Red knows what he wants. He doesn’t know why it’s so hard to say. He can get himself a house, make these friends. Trust them with his life. But just admitting how he feels, it’s like there’s this block, from his head to his mouth. It’s always been there, for as long as he can remember. 

But at this point, fuck, everyone probably knows, because with that memory of Vas and Josh, other shit is coming back from that night. Matthew knows, and if Matthew knows, Emma definitely does. And Emma will have said something at some point, probably to Goody. Once Goody knows something, everyone knows. 

Does Teddy know?

What had he said that night, after Red told him the truth about Denali? Had he really said he liked Red too much? Even after that confession, that Red was connected to one of the worst people they knew, however distantly, he still apparently liked Red too much. 

He’s mulling it over still out on the patio, closer to sunset, when Josh sends him a text. Two. _You’re a loser_ , followed by, _why do I have to fucking do everything for you?_

Red doesn’t respond, trying to figure out if it was even meant for him, and if it was, what it means. He gets his answer, to both questions, when the patio door slides open and Teddy steps out. The alert had sounded on his phone when the code was put in on the door, but he’d figured it was Billy. He’d been making noises about coming around sometime. 

It’s Teddy though, standing there, looking at him. “I bought more of those stupid Suzy Q cakes. They’re kind of addictive.” They kind of are. Red still has the box in his cabinet. “There a reason why Josh was telling me you needed me?” 

“He can’t mind his own business,” Red says, watching Teddy as he comes outside, shutting the door behind him and sitting beside Red on the outdoor couch. He’s in just a tee shirt and jeans, with an old hoodie thrown on, his hair still kind of wet. He looks normal. And Red still can’t think about anything but that party, and the way it felt when Teddy was completely in his space, pressed up to him and happy. “Him and Vas are together.” 

“What, seriously? How long has that been going on?”

“Since Colorado.” He can’t even really remember what job they were pulling in Colorado. Something to do with modern art. “They were keeping it quiet.”

“Huh. Well, that’s better than what they were doing, I guess. They’re going to get obnoxious about it, aren’t they?” 

Probably. Josh really likes Vas. And Josh is pretty obnoxious. That’s not the point, though. Whatever Josh and Vas are doing, that’s not the point. “I really hate it when you pretend to date those guys on jobs.” That’s kind of the point. It’s pretty close to it. “I really hated it when Vas was hitting on you.”

“When the hell was Vasquez hitting on me?” He looks confused, pulling something out of his hoodie pocket. One of those Suzy Q’s. “Has that what he’s been up to? Why? I know him and Faraday didn’t think I’d be interested in sleeping with them.” 

Red shakes his head. He needs to say it. This is the best chance he has. What comes out is, “Josh was fucking with me. Wanted me to do something about some shit I’ve been ignoring. Feelings.” 

The plastic wrapper snaps open, and Teddy tears off a piece of the cake. “Oh, feelings,” he says mockingly. “About what? Him? Vas? Suzy Qs?” 

They really do have a stupid name. But it sticks in a person’s head. Probably why Josh is always calling Teddy that. “Yeah.” 

Teddy offers him a piece. “Well, you’re in luck. I like you enough to share.” When Red shakes his head, Teddy pops it in his mouth. “I hate the guys I ‘date’ when we’re on jobs, too. I already told Sam I can’t do it anymore. He didn’t have to ask why.” He looks at Red. “Do I need to tell you?” 

There’s a hint there, one that tells Red that Teddy’s already worked out what this conversation is really about. He shakes his head. 

“Okay. So I guess what I need you to tell me is if you hate it for the same reason I do.” He plays with the wrapper for a second, then sets it down on the edge of the stone firepit, half the cake still in it. “Because if it is, then, you know, we don’t have to talk about it. I know you get uncomfortable with that kind of thing. I just want you to know that if it is, it’s there. _That_. If you want that.” 

Red still can’t say it, not yet, but Teddy just told him he didn’t have to. So he doesn’t. He leans over, and puts his hand on Teddy’s jaw, turning his face so Red can kiss him. 

He doesn’t look at his phone again until the next morning, finding the thing still on the patio outside with twenty percent battery. He’s lucky it didn’t rain. There’s about five messages from Josh, the first four asking how things are going. The last one comes in while he’s taking it upstairs to plug it in. _Emma says Teddy Q ain’t at his place. Now where oh where could he be at six in the morning?_

Red texts back, _Fuck off_ , then silences it and plugs it in. 

“Did you find it?” Teddy asks, not opening his eyes. 

“Yeah,” Red answers, getting back in the bed. “It was outside.” 

“Hm. How many times did Josh text you?” 

“I’m going to punch him.” Not right now. Later. Red doesn’t care of his stupid joke actually worked, it’s the principle of the thing. 

“You can’t, it’s Wednesday. Sam said no hitting on Wednesdays.”

Whatever. Red’s busy right now anyway. And tomorrow’s Thursday.


End file.
